...some Naha street scenes...
...city streets...
...a pretty waterway...
...tall buildings...
...a Shisa statue guarding a building downtown...A closed-mouth female is supposed to keep in the good spirits and an open-mouthed male is supposed to scare evil spirits away...so this is the female and the male is on the other side of the door...
...a downtown temple or shrine...
...they still have public pay phones...I don't know when the last time was that I saw one in the U.S. ...
...the walled park we're walking to...
...entering the park...actually called "Walkable Art"...
...it's so beautiful here...and quiet too...
...beautiful pathways...
...and pagodas...
...and statues...
...and a waterfall you can walk behind...
...all the kiddos...
...Little Sissie checking out the bamboo forest...Big Sissie told us that's what the pandas eat...
...Big Sissie smelling the pretty flowers...
...a pagoda on a hill...
...watching all the different coloured koi...
...there were multiple ponds like this...
...and the lake in the center...
...we got a packet of fish food...of course...
...on the walk back to the hotel we passed this hilariously named bar...
...then to the main (touristy) part of the city...we were looking for the famous Okinawan Tacos...but we found two shops...and both were closed for the new year...but isn't this market awesome...
...I loved the skylights overhead all a long the walkway...
...since we couldn't find the tacos...we had a delicious veggie burger instead...
...the overhead monorail...coming...
...and going...
...then we checked out of one hotel...and headed up the expressway...
...remember they drive on the left here...that's different...
...I was in the back...and Our Airman said..."that's the ocean over there"...so I grabbed my camera...and snapped a photo at speed...and you can barely see it between the buildings...and I said...'awww...I missed it'...
...and he said you'll see it better up here in a little bit...and he was right of course...
...we were headed to this area closer to base called the "American Village"...
...American Village was named after the fact that it was once used as a base for American military forces...
...it's kind of a large entertainment complex...
...and we checked into a spa hotel called LeQu...just for one night...it's a gorgeous hotel with ocean views...
...because one of the things I really wanted to do while I was here was a public bath...
...and this hotel has a large communal bath sourced from the Chatan Hot Spring...this is not my photo...of course I didn't take any photos inside the public bath...but I have to say that it totally lived up to my expectation...and I would do it every day if I had the option...
...and a couple of photos of American Village...
...at night...
~Have a lovely day!
ps...Happy New Year!
At last! I leave a comment. I've been following your journey to Japan and I'm glad you made it there and are having a wonderful time seeing the grandchildren and your son and daughter in love. There is so much for you to catch up on. I saw the photo of your short hair and I think it suits you so well. Lucky you. I really would love to use a communal bath in Japan myself. Not sure if I'll ever get a chance but I'm glad you did. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how un-crowded it appears there. That spa hotel looks beautiful! Love,K
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